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Monday, August 25, 2008

Duma Key

Duma Key is one hell of a story. Edgar Freemantle has it all, a loving wife, two pretty daughters and a successful construction company that has made him millions. One fateful day, his car is crushed by an incoming crane and Edgar is severely injured, losing an arm and apparently some of his sanity. After attacking his wife, she files for divorce and Edgar retreats to Florida to heal and lick his wounds. On lonely Duma Key, Edgar returns to his childhood pasttime of painting and finds that his t...moreDuma Key is one hell of a story. Edgar Freemantle has it all, a loving wife, two pretty daughters and a successful construction company that has made him millions. One fateful day, his car is crushed by an incoming crane and Edgar is severely injured, losing an arm and apparently some of his sanity. After attacking his wife, she files for divorce and Edgar retreats to Florida to heal and lick his wounds. On lonely Duma Key, Edgar returns to his childhood pasttime of painting and finds that his talent is both limitless and awe-inspiring. He meets some friends who eventually become some of the most important people he'll ever meet in his life. When things start to get- for lack of a better word- weird, those friends carry him through the worst part of it.

Oh Stephen King...you have rocked my world for well over a decade. As an ardent admirer of SK's work, I have been privy to how his writing has matured over the years. Not to say his earlier works such as "It" or "Pet Sematary" aren't great...it's just that clearly SK has refined his brand of "horror" so that in truth, his writing has become an exploration of human emotion. I noticed this in Lisey's Story, but much more so in Duma Key. Edgar's journey to both physical and mental recovery was oftentimes difficult to read about but I found myself so drawn to his character, that I rooted for him every step of the way.

SK's especial talent is how clearly he exposes the roots of relationships. Whether it's a relationship between friends or lovers or relatives, SK has this knack for bringing out the idiosyncracies in a bond between two people...and it's those idiosyncracies that truly bring a relationship to life.

Duma Key now ranks up there with The Stand and Hearts in Atlantis. Lastly, in SK's acknowledgements, he ends by thanking "you, Constant Reader, always you."As if I wasn't already crying hard enough by the end of the book..